The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament in 1765. This meant that almost all paper products had to bear a stamp for legal and business purposes. For example, “For every Skin or Piece of Vellum or Parchment, or Sheet or Piece of Paper, on which shall be ingrossed, written, or printed, any Special Bail and Appearance upon such Bail in any such Court, a Stamp Duty of Two Shillings,” from the Stamp Act. Not just important documents had to have stamps, but also periodicals, pamphlets, and playing cards. These are just a few of the fifty or more items that were affected by the Stamp Act. The cost of the stamps ranged from 3 pennies to 6 pounds depending on the item.
Audio for the Stamp Act
Why was it created?
-Anna
Britain was left in great debt caused by the French and Indian War. Englishmen thought that the colonists should pay for some of the debt that they had given Britain because of fighting in the war. Parliament passed the Stamp Act to go along with the Sugar Act because the Sugar Act did not bring in enough revenue to pay off the debt.
Audio for the Cause of the Stamp Act
How did the colonists react to the Stamp Act?
-Maddie
The colonists reacted very harshly to the Stamp Act. The colonists believed that the Stamp Act was “taxation without representation” or Britain was taxing them, without them having a say in Parliament, which was one main way they disagreed with the tax. They thought the tax was unreasonable. They acted on it by doing things such as protests and signing petitions. Colonists also boycotted all products that required a stamp put on them. The Stamp Act Congress had a big role in these protests. The congress was a group of delegates from nine colonies to help cancel the Stamp Act, and were the ones who started a petition to reverse the act. The colonists did not agree with the Stamp Act, and therefore they acted on their beliefs.
How did the colonist’s reaction affect the British?
-Marion
The colonists' strong reaction had a big affect on the British. They repealed the Stamp Act, but instead the British passed an act that was more harsh on the colonies, the Declaratory Act. With the Declaratory Act, the English Parliament made things even worse because this act granted Britain the power of controlling the colonies no matter what. This made the colonists more upset because the Declaratory Act was very unfair and humiliated them. Britain was basically saying that they were much better than America and that they were their masters. One of the reasons Britain got rid of the Stamp Act was because there were many outbursts of violence of protest in the American society. Instead of fixing that problem, the new act the parliament passed caused more uprising in America.
How did the colonist’s reaction affect themselves?
-Marion
America was organizing protests, boycotts and petitions and the colonies were causing a ruckus and fighting. This made Britain get upset and want all of the protesting to stop. Even though the Stamp Act was not a good thing, it did have a positive impact on the road to independence, to make their protest as strong as possible, the colonists had to plan and coordinate themselves. This planning helped make America not just a group of separate colonies, but helped to create one identity, so they could fight for their freedom from the British together. If one colony wanted to do this alone, it would not have a large impact and would get them no where, but if all the colonies put their differences aside and came together as one, then the impact would be huge. This also happened to individual people at the time when the Stamp Act was first enacted on the American people. Before this, the people of America thought of themselves as English citizens, after the act was established, people started to question if they really were true English citizens, and after a period of time, they began to think of themselves as true American citizens.
What followed the Stamp Act?
-Maddie
All of the colonists’ protests ended up working. On March 18,1776 the Parliament cancelled the Stamp Act. Britain wanted to seem powerful to the colonies so they talked about many ways to achieve this goal. They concluded that The Declaratory Act was the answer. The Declaratory Act stated that Britain still had full control of the colonies and still had the right to tax them as they wish. Britain wanted the colonists to know that they were “on top” and had the ultimate power over them. The colonists’ various protests ended up working to repeal the Stamp Act, but due to Britain’s need for power they passed the Declaratory Act the same day.
The Stamp Act
By Maddie, Marion and Anna
Describe the Act or event.
-Anna
Audio for the Stamp Act
Why was it created?
-Anna
Audio for the Cause of the Stamp Act
How did the colonists react to the Stamp Act?
-Maddie
How did the colonist’s reaction affect the British?
-Marion
How did the colonist’s reaction affect themselves?
-Marion
America was organizing protests, boycotts and petitions and the colonies were causing a ruckus and fighting. This made Britain get upset and want all of the protesting to stop. Even though the Stamp Act was not a good thing, it did have a positive impact on the road to independence, to make their protest as strong as possible, the colonists had to plan and coordinate themselves. This planning helped make America not just a group of separate colonies, but helped to create one identity, so they could fight for their freedom from the British together. If one colony wanted to do this alone, it would not have a large impact and would get them no where, but if all the colonies put their differences aside and came together as one, then the impact would be huge. This also happened to individual people at the time when the Stamp Act was first enacted on the American people. Before this, the people of America thought of themselves as English citizens, after the act was established, people started to question if they really were true English citizens, and after a period of time, they began to think of themselves as true American citizens.What followed the Stamp Act?
-Maddie
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